“A Republic Must Not Kill Its Own Children”
Four student activists (Gaurav, Gauraang, Kiran and Rahul) of Bhagat Singh Chhatra Ekta Manch (bsCEM) from Delhi University were detained by the police and taken to Vasant Kunj police station at 3am on 4th February and their phones were seized. They were doing wall paintings against Operation Kagar—a genocidal military operation undertaken in Bastar by the BJP government which is claimed to be the “final solution” to the Maoist insurgency but murdering numerous Adivasis as well as the revolutionary communists. The wall paintings also condemned the recent Tolimeta fake encounters in the Bijapur district of Bastar and wrote the famous Supreme Court verdict given upon the fake encounter of Maoist leader Azad— “A Republic must not kill its own children”.

The activists were kept in illegal detention for more than 12 hours and were not allowed to contact anyone. Around 12 pm the police lied about releasing them but they were still not picking up calls. After further enquiry, it was discovered that the students concerned were still kept in VasantKunj police station and were being illegally investigated by the same NIA and IB team that had carried out the previous illegal investigation of bsCEM in May 2024. The four had been brutally assaulted by the police and intelligence officers for hours before and during the investigation. Gauraang had been beaten up so much for more than half an hour that his ear was bleeding.

The walls of JNU are everywhere adorned with wall paintings by ABVP, NSUI and even left student groups. But it is because of the content of the wall paintings that bsCEM is being targetted and attacked by the government and its repressive agencies like NIA and IB. There is a complete suppression of any news of the genocidal war being waged by the government in Bastar to facilitate corporate plunder of the land, forest and water of adivasis. More than 300 people were killed in 2024, most of them being Adivasi civilians killed in fake encounters. Even the maoists that were killed were killed in staged encounters and mostly were unarmed combatants. There have been proven cases of gross violations of human rights and democratic rights. At such a time the attempt by bsCEM to register dissent against the war being waged against the people of the country by the government was an obstacle for the government’s genocidal and pro-corporate agenda.
Gurkirat Kaur
Executive Committee Member
Bhagat Singh Chhatra Ekta Manch

AAP is Gone
Financial Times pointed out that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), once seen as a strong regional force, now faces an existential crisis. “Delhi was AAP’s last stronghold. Losing it to the BJP puts serious questions on its national ambitions”.

For one thing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was all through this period, i.e. 2014 onwards, outright sweeping the parliamentary poll in Delhi.

The AAP is still running a (full-scale) state government in Punjab. But, this big electoral defeat in Delhi–its presumed home ground–is no doubt a stunning setback. 

The AAP was a middle-class fantasy come true. An apolitical, or even anti-political, (post-ideology?) political party.

There’s a large overlap between the BJP and AAP constituencies.

So much so that in November 2014, in the run-up to the Delhi state poll, for a (short) while, the AAP slogan was: Modi for PM, Arvind for CM.

During the campaign for the last Gujarat poll, Kejriwal raised the demand that Indian currencies must carry the images of goddess Lakshmi and Lord Ganesha–together with that of Gandhiji, in order to cure the ills of the Indian economy.

AAP supported the scrapping of J&K’s special status while most of the opposition parties, especially Congress, firmly opposed.

The Delhi government run by the AAP provided the requisite permission to book student leader Umar Khalid under the draconian UPA in the context of the Delhi riots.

And this time round, Kejriwal has promised Rs18,000 per month to (only) temple priests and gurudwara gran this if re-elected. Kejriwal’s penchant for sensationalising issues is also quite similar to that of the BJP.

Modi is, however, a true-blue autocratic ruler pretty much implementing the RSS agenda and thereby falls in a different category altogether. 

Quite significantly, this time round, no one has yet screamed EVM! Not even Kejriwal.

14 of the 22 seats won by the AAP out of the total 70 come from the constituencies dominated by the poor/Dalits/Muslims.

These had once been traditional Congress strongholds.

Once the AAP is ousted from power, it remains to be seen whether the loyalties of these constituencies will again switch back.
Sukla Sen

Low Voter Turnout
Despite having a total voting population of 96.8 crore, only 64.2 crore voted during the hot summer months of April and May. This is highly disheartening and raises the question of why such a large number of eligible voters chose not to exercise their democratic rights.

The months of April and May in India are characterised by scorching heat and high temperatures. This makes it difficult for people, especially the elderly and those with health issues, to venture out and stand in long queues to cast their votes.

Also, many people have to travel to their native villages or hometowns to vote, which can be a costly and time-consuming process. 

Moreover, the summer months are also the peak season for agriculture and many people, especially in rural areas, are occupied with farming activities, leaving them with little time to vote.

Apart from time (months), efforts should be made to spread awareness about postal and proxy voting options, which can be utilised by individuals who are unable to physically go to the polling booths.

Additionally, the government can also provide incentives or concessions to those who make the effort to vote during these hot summer months.
T S Karthik, Chennai

Oppose All Wars
“The war massacre in Ukraine continues, affecting populations on both sides of the war line. While Putin’s army bombs Ukrainian cities, the Ukrainian government has turned them into prisons for a significant portion of the local population. People are being maimed, imprisoned, raped and murdered as a result of the actions of the rulers in the Kremlin and Kiev.

War and nationalist propaganda are deceiving and manipulating people, while at the same time obscuring important facts. Among other things, for example, the fact that the State borders in Ukraine are closed to men of conscription age. They are guarded by the army, which sends men to prison, shoots them and drowns them in the river when they try to cross the border to safe place. Army gunmen also chase men in the streets to drag them to the front and use them as “cannon fodder”. Yes, this is the same Ukrainian army that is praised by many as if it was a noble form of liberation institution. If one looks to Russia, one can see a similarly disturbing reality. For the slightest protest against the war, people end up in prison; forced mobilisation has obliged many proletarians to flee or go into hiding. Deserters, saboteurs and conscientious objectors are massacred, judged and imprisoned in Russia, as well as in the Ukraine.

 It is necessary not only to condemn and criticise it, but also to give practical support to those who are concerned, i.e. deserters, rebels, saboteurs, refugees, those who avoid forced conscription to the front and many others. It is necessary to stand consistently against Putin’s aggressors, as well as against aggressors acting at the instigation of the Ukrainian Government.

 The Anti-Militarist Initiative (AMI) is therefore launching a public fundraising campaign starting the 1 February 2025. The money raised will support proletarians from Russia and Ukraine who are trying to avoid mobilisation, who have deserted, who face repression or are trying to save their lives by fleeing a war zone.
Anti-Imperialist Initiative

Spreading Misinformation
Citizens for Justice and Peace [CJP] looks back on a year of tackling hate speech and media bias. News channels repeatedly aired divisive content, prompting protest action. From misrepresenting communities to spreading inflammatory rhetoric, CJP filed multiple complaints against AajTak, Zee News, India TV, and Times Now Navbharat, holding them accountable. And these efforts led the News Broadcasting Standards Authority (NBSDA) to issue warnings and mandate content removals, reinforcing the need for responsible journalism.

CJP complaints led to landmark NBDSA rulings:

*Hate-filled broadcasts removed: Content falsely portraying ‘Mazaar Jihad’ and ‘Madrasa Terrorism’ was ordered to be taken down from platforms.

* Broadcasters held accountable: Channels received warnings for failing to maintain journalistic objectivity, with directives for corrective measures.

*Precedents set for media responsibility: The NBSDA’s strict stance signals to news outlets that spreading misinformation will not go unchecked.
Citizens for Justice and Peace

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Frontier
Vol 57, No. 35, Feb 23 - March 1, 2025